System and method for managing customer communications over communication channels

ABSTRACT

A system and method for managing customer communications over communication channels are disclosed. A method may include (1) determining a contact mode for contacting a customer based on at least one of a campaign strategy, a customer account attribute, a phone number attribute, a previous contact outcome, a previous call outcome, an email address attribute, a time of day, a customer contact preference, a customer availability, and a customer contact consent; (2) initiating contact with the customer; and (3) interacting with the customer. A system may include a database comprising contact data including at least one of a campaign strategy, a customer account attribute, a phone number attribute, a previous contact outcome, a previous call outcome, a customer contact preference, a customer availability, and a customer contact consent; a computer processor executing a communication manager, the communication manger determining a contact mode for contacting a customer on a communication channel selected from the group consisting of a telephone, a cellular phone, an email, a text message, a chat, a facsimile, and a social networking site. The communication manager may select a communication channel based on the contact data; and the contact system may contact the customer using the selected communication channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/317,091, filed Mar. 24, 2010, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods formanaging customer communications over communication channels.

2. Description of the Related Art

Companies, marketing services, debt collection agencies, etc. oftenemploy the services of auto-dialers in order to market new products tocurrent and potential customers. There are generally two modes of usingauto-dialers: “predictive” mode and “preview” mode. In predictive mode,the dialer attempts to predict the probability a customer will answerthe phone in order to maximize the number of outbound call attempts madein any given period. To do this, the dialer automatically calls severalnumbers in advance and transfers calls to agents only when a “live”person answers the call. This type of dialing eliminates busy signals,answering machines, etc. and minimizes agent downtime.

In preview mode, however, the dialer displays contact information to anagent before placing the call. The agent is given control over thesystem and can decide when a call is to be placed to a recipient. If aperson answers, the agent is linked to the customer immediately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for managing customer communications overcommunication channels are disclosed. In one embodiment, a methodincludes (1) determining a contact mode for contacting a customer basedon at least one of a campaign strategy, a customer account attribute, aphone number attribute, a previous contact outcome, a previous calloutcome, an email address attribute, a time of day, a customer contactpreference, a customer availability, and a customer contact consent; (2)initiating contact with the customer; and (3) interacting with thecustomer.

In one embodiment, determining a contact mode may include determining acommunication channel on which to contact the customer. Thecommunication channel may include a telephone, a cellular phone, anemail, a text message, a chat, a facsimile, and a social networkingsite.

In one embodiment, the customer availability may be determined based ona location of the customer.

The method may further include determining a dialing mode. In oneembodiment, the dialing mode may be a predictive mode, a preview mode, apreview manual mode, manual mode, and preview manual mode. The dialingmode may be determined based on a campaign strategy, account attributes,phone number attributes, previous call outcomes, customer preferences, acustomer availability, and/or customer contact consent.

The method may further include determining an alternate communicationchannel by which to contact the customer; and initiating contact withthe customer on the alternate communication channel. The alternatecommunication channel may be determined based on one of a customerfeedback, a customer location, and a customer preference.

According to another embodiment, a method for managing customercommunications over a plurality of communication channels includes (1)using a campaign manager, selecting a dialing mode for contacting acustomer based on at least one of a campaign strategy, a customeraccount attribute, a phone number attribute, a previous contact outcome,a previous call outcome, a time of day, a customer contact preference, acustomer availability, and a customer contact consent, wherein thedialing mode is one of predictive mode, preview mode, preview manualmode; (2) attempting to contact the customer using the selected dialingmode; (3) determining an alternate dialing mode based on the result ofthe attempted contact; and (4) attempting to contact the customer usingthe alternate dialing mode.

The method may further record a result of the attempted contact usingthe selected dialing mode a result of the attempted contact using thealternate dialing mode.

The method may also revert to a default dialing mode following theattempted contact using the alternate dialing mode.

According to another embodiment, a system for managing customercommunications over a plurality of communication channels may include adatabase comprising contact data including at least one of a campaignstrategy, a customer account attribute, a phone number attribute, aprevious contact outcome, a previous call outcome, a customer contactpreference, a customer availability, and a customer contact consent; acomputer processor executing a communication manager, the communicationmanger determining a contact mode for contacting a customer on acommunication channel selected from the group consisting of a telephone,a cellular phone, an email, a text message, a chat, a facsimile, and asocial networking site. The communication manager may select acommunication channel based on the contact data; and the contact systemmay contact the customer using the selected communication channel.

The communication manager may include a rules engine that determines acriteria for switching a contact mode. The communication manager mayalso determine a dialing mode for a telephone and a cellular phonecommunication channel. The communication manger may further determine analternate communication channel by which to contact the customer.

The dialing mode is may be one of a predictive mode, a preview mode, apreview manual mode, and a manual mode. The dialing mode may bedetermined based on at least one of a campaign strategy, an accountattribute, a phone number attribute, a previous call outcome, a customerpreference, a customer availability, and a customer contact consent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, the objectsand advantages thereof, reference is now made to the followingdescriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for managing customercommunications over communication channels according to one embodiment;and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method for managing customercommunications over communication channels according to one embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Several embodiments of the present invention and their advantages may beunderstood by referring to FIGS. 1-2, wherein like reference numeralsrefer to like elements.

The following disclosures are related to the present invention: U.S.Pat. No. 5,621,790; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/763,030; andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/610,289. The disclosures of each isspecifically incorporated by reference in its entirety.

According to one embodiment, a system and method for managing customercommunications over communication channels is provided. In oneembodiment, the system may include a communication manger that mayprovide an dialing mode called “preview manual mode.” This mode mayenable greater supervision over the preview mode, and may ensurecompliance with any company, governmental, or other laws, regulationsand/or policies. Unlike preview mode, preview manual mode may requirehuman intervention, such as by an agent, to initiate an action to dialthe initial phone numbers. In one embodiment, an automated countdowntimer is not a suitable initiator.

In one embodiment, reports may be generated to show that each call thatmeets the criteria of preview manual mode has been made in this mode.

In one embodiment, the communication manager may also provide theability to switch calling modes among predictive mode, preview mode,preview manual mode and full manual mode as necessary and/or desired. Inone embodiment, the switch may be made based on customer accountattributes, a phone number received in the dialer input file, customerreal-time feedback, customer availability, etc.

In one embodiment, the decision to switch modes may be made at, forexample, a campaign level, an account level, a phone number level, etc.The communication manager may be updated by dialer operators using arules engine. Within the rules engine, the account level, phone numberlevel and other criteria (such as time of day and campaign goals) forswitching calling modes may be established.

In one embodiment, the dialer may return to a default dialer mode thatis set at a campaign level when the criteria to switch modes no longerapply. For example, a campaign may start as a predictive mode defaultcampaign. When an account balance reaches a certain threshold, anoutbound attempt on that account may be switched to preview mode. Laterin the campaign, when an account with a phone number that is a cellphone (without consent) is presented to the dialer for calling, thedialer may switch to a preview manual mode.

After each of these attempts, the dialer may revert to the defaultpredictive dialing mode.

In another embodiment, the communication manager may also provide theability to move accounts into other communication channels based onaccount and phone number attributes such as consent, campaign rules,customer preferences, etc. in real-time. The communication manager mayhave the ability to initiate a customer contact attempt throughnon-voice channels based on account-level attributes. For example, whenan account has a text messaging preference indicator and text messagingconsent indicator, then a text message would be sent to the customer.

In one embodiment, these attempts may be integrated within the autodialer, or may be executed through an offload process with an externalapplication. The offload may include, for example, an external vendor.

In another embodiment, the communication manager may also provide theability to receive real-time feedback from customers on one contactchannel to consent to trigger a calling mode decision or an alternatecontact channel decision. The auto dialer may have the ability toreceive real-time customer consent by contact channel and managenon-voice customer communication. The initial consent information bycontact channel for the day may come in a field in the dialer file.Throughout the day, the customer may send more up-to-date consentinformation for different contact channels, or may initiate a two-waynon-voice interaction. For example, throughout the day a customer maygrant consent for a text message through an online customer serviceapplication. For consent updates, the communication manager may updatethe rest of the day's campaign based on this new information and send anupdate to the system of record. The communication manager may theninitiate a text message if, for example, other campaign criteria aremet.

The communication manager may also be used to manage the flow ofinformation to and from the customer. For two-way non-voice customercommunication, such as using a voice response unit (VRU), thecommunication manager may decide how to route the call to the mostappropriate agent.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system for managing customer communications overcommunication channels according to one embodiment is provided. System100 may include communications center 110, communication channels 140,and may include mobile phone 150, PDA 160, computer 170, and server 180.

In one embodiment, communications center 110 may include communicationmanager 120, rules engine 125, dialer 130, and database 135. In oneembodiment, communication manager 120 may be an application executed bya computer processor. In another embodiment, communication manager 120may include human interaction. Communications center 110 may furtherinclude one or more agents.

In one embodiment, rules engine 125 may be provided. Rules engine 125may be provided as part of communications center 110, or it may beprovided separately. Rules engine 125 may interact with communicationmanager 120 to implement business rules that may be stored in, forexample, database 135.

As used herein, the terms “dialer” and “auto dialer” may include phonedialers, as well as any device that can initiate contact by email, text,video, letter, VRU, etc.

In one embodiment, database 135 may store data that may be used bycampaign manager 120 and/or rules engine 125. In one embodiment, thedata may include a campaign strategy, account attributes, phone numberattributes, previous contact outcomes, previous call outcomes, emailattributes, customer feedback through other communication channels,customer contact preferences, customer consent to be contacted bycellular phone, customer location (e.g., last known customer location,customer location history, etc.) text messages, etc. Although only onedatabase 135 is illustrated, others may be provided as necessary and/ordesired. In one embodiment, the data may be located on severaldatabases.

In one embodiment, communication channels 140 may include any suitablecommunication channel, including, for example, plain old telephoneservice (POTS) lines (i.e., landlines), voice over IP (VoIP) networks,fiber optic networks, RF networks, IR networks, the Internet, Bluetoothnetworks, near-field communication networks, satellite communicationnetworks, Wi-Fi networks, email, chat, text, video, fax, socialnetworking sites, etc.

In FIG. 1, several communication devices, including mobile phone 150,PDA 160, and computer 170 are disclosed. Other communication devices,including landline telephones, eBook readers, etc., may be used asnecessary and/or desired.

Server 180 may host a website, such as, for example, a social networkingsite, a blog, etc.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method for managing customer communications overcommunication channels is provided. In step 210, the method may set thecontact mode to a default contact mode. In one embodiment, a contactmode may include the communication channel and the way by which thecustomer is contacted over that communication channel. For example, theselection of the default contact mode may include the selection of thedefault communication channel (e.g., voice based (e.g., landline phone,cellular phone), email, text, chat, etc.), and, if a voice-basedcommunication channel is selected, the dialing mode. As another example,if an email communication channel is selected, the default format forthe email (e.g., text, html) may be selected.

In one embodiment, this step may also include selecting a defaultdialing mode, such as predictive mode, preview mode, preview manualmode, and full manual mode (e.g., the agent dials the number with noassistance) for a voice-based communication channel. The default modemay be the mode that is least likely to create unauthorized call issues,such as by calling a cellular telephone without consent. In oneembodiment, the default mode may be the preview manual mode. The defaultmode may be set based on, for example, a campaign strategy, companypolicy, etc.

In step 220, the contact mode to be used may be selected. In oneembodiment this may involve selecting the communication channel and themode of using that communication channel (e.g., dialing mode, etc.). Inone embodiment, the contact mode may be selected based on a campaignstrategy (e.g., intensity of campaign), account attributes (e.g.,account status), phone number attributes (e.g., landline, cellular),previous contact outcomes (e.g., responses to emails, texts, etc.),previous call outcomes (e.g., repeated hang-ups in predictive mode),email attributes (e.g., a yahoo account versus a work account), time ofday, customer feedback through other communication channels, customercontact preferences, customer consent to be contacted by cellular phone,text messages, etc.

In one embodiment, the communication manager may take the following intoconsideration when determining the mode and communication channel onwhich to attempt contact with the customer:

1. Account, phone number/communication channel triggers. For example,customers with outstanding balances may be contacted in preview modeonly rather than the default predictive mode.

2. Call outcomes from previous call(s). The outcomes of previous callsmay be used to determine the mode and/or communication channel used. Forexample, if a customer routinely hangs up on an auto-dialer during theconnection break, the system will use preview mode. If the customernever answers the phone, the system may use a different mode ofcommunication.

3. Campaign goals/list level intensity. The campaign may have certaingoals, e.g., four phone attempts followed by an email if phone attemptsare unsuccessful.

4. Time of day settings. The system may use a less-intrusive (e.g.,email, text) during evening hours rather than contacting the customer bytelephone or cell phone.

5. Immediate customer feedback. Customer preferences, such as a commentfrom a customer that he or she prefers contact by cell phone, preferscontact by email, etc. are considered. This feedback may come from anexternal source (e.g., when a customer contacts card customer service,this information is recorded in the customer's profile) and used insubsequent communication attempts.

6. Customer information mining: Information about a customer, such asthe customer's location, may be determined based on information gatheredfrom social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Four Square, Twitter,etc.). For example, by mining a social networking cite, informationsubmitted regarding a customer's location, data regarding the mostrecent updated submitted by the customer, etc. may be used. Similarly,location data may be determined if the customer provides, or enables,real-time (or close to real time) location information from its mobiledevice (e.g., Google Latitude), social networking sites, etc. Thisinformation may be used to determine if an attempt to contact a customershould be made at home, on a mobile device, on a different communicationchannel, etc.

In another embodiment, information about the customer's availability maybe determined from social networking sites, Internet service providers,electronic mail providers, mobile phone providers, etc. Electronic mailproviders, such as Yahoo!, often inform a user as to whether his or hercontacts are on-line and/or available to receive instant messages, tochat, etc. Similarly, commercially-available software, for example,Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communicator, etc. may retrieveinformation regarding the customer's presence, or availability, at acomputer, such as a work computer, home computer, etc.

In another embodiment, information regarding a customer's cellular phoneusage may be used. For example, information regarding the last time thecustomer used his or her cell phone, sent a text using the cell phone,etc. may be used.

In another embodiment, historical customer location data may be used toestablish the likelihood that a customer is available on a particularcommunication channel. For example, during the workday, if a customertypically calls from a cellular telephone, while the customer typicallycalls from home in the evening, that data may be stored and used toassist in the determination of a communication channel based on the timeof day. Automated number identification (ANI) may be used to determinethe source of the call. Other customer location and availability trendsmay be used as necessary and/or desired.

Other factors may be considered as necessary and/or desired.

In one embodiment, the communication manager may make thisdetermination.

In step 230, the dialer may initiate contact with the customer using theselected contact mode. This may involve, for example, manually dialing atelephone number, using an auto-dialer, generating an email, generatingan instant message, generating a text, initiating chat, posting amessage to a social networking site, sending letter by mail, sending anovernight delivery, etc.

In one embodiment, the communication manager may switch communicationmodes after contact has been initiated. This may be due to a customerrequest (e.g., the customer is contacted by phone and asks to be sent anemail), due to a failure to establish contact with the customer, due tocampaign strategy, due to an agent's decision, etc.

In step 240, the system may receive customer feedback based oninteraction with the customer. In one embodiment, customer feedback maybe provided on the same or on a different communication channel from theselected communication channel. For example, if a customer is contactedvia landline, and prefers to be contacted by cellular phone, thecustomer may indicate such on a website, by sending a text message, etc.In another embodiment, the customer may periodically update his or hercontact preferences on-line, by calling an agent, sending an email ortext, etc.

In another embodiment, the customer may be requested to respond to atext message to give consent to be contacted on that number. Forexample, the CSA may send a message (e.g., SMS message) to the mobiledevice during the call, and the customer may respond by pressing “1” togive consent, “2” to decline, etc.

In another embodiment, each time the customer dials into a voiceresponse unit, the customer may be asked to provide consent to becontacted on that phone number. The phone number may be captured by, forexample, ANI systems, etc.

In another embodiment, the consent may be received by multi-channelauthentication. For example, if the ANI system identifies a caller on anew device (e.g., a new phone number), the system may requireauthorization for that device to access account data. This may beachieved by sending a message to an already approved device, andverifying the customer's identity. For example, in one embodiment, thesystem may send a code to the approved device and request that the codebe entered into the new device. At that time, consent to contact thecustomer on the new device may be requested.

In another embodiment, if the ANI system identifies a new device, thesystem may request consent to contact the customer on that device.

In another embodiment, the ANI system may inform the customer that bycontacting the CSA on the device, the customer is opting intoauthorizing contact on that device. The customer may be able to opt outby pressing a key, sending a message, calling the agent, etc.

In another embodiment, the customer may provide consent when it accessesits account on-line. For example, the customer may be requested toprovide consent periodically when he or she signs into the account.

In another embodiment, the customer may be asked for consent when thecustomer establishes the account.

In step 250, the system may generate a report of customer contact. Thismay be for general record keeping, to show adherence with any applicablelaws and/or regulations, etc. For example, if a customer calls an agenton a cellular phone, the agent may request consent to contact thecustomer on that phone number. This consent may be recorded and storedby any appropriate method. In one embodiment, the audio may be digitizedand stored, or associated, with account information. In anotherembodiment, the customer may be requested to send a message, such as aSMS, EMS, MMS message, etc. indicating consent.

An illustration of the use of the communication manager is provided.When a cellular phone number (without customer consent) is presented tothe communication manager, the communication manager may switch a dialerto a preview manual mode before the call can be made. The preview manualmode may require the agent to initiate all calls by interacting with thedialer. In traditional preview mode, the dialer may execute the firstcall based on a countdown timer. With preview manual mode, in oneembodiment, the initial dialer call may only be executed by an advisortaking action to initiate the call. The communication manager mayrequire the dialer to switch back to other dialing modes after thepreview manual mode call is completed.

In one embodiment, the requirement to call cell phones with an automateddialer only when consent has been given may also be applied to othercontact channels such as text messages, automated voice responseapplications, e-mails, instant messaging, social networking, etc.

Examples of process controls that may be achieved are as follows:

1. Cell phones without customer consent cannot be called in any othermode than preview manual mode. This is an example of preventive control.

2. Reports will be created to show that every cell phone without consentin the dialer file has been called in preview manual mode. This is anexample of detective control.

3. Reports will be created to show calls made in the other dialing modesmet the criteria for those dialing modes based on account attributes.This is another example of detective control.

4. Reports will be created to show customer contact attempt by non-voicechannels met the expected criteria for those attempts. This is anotherexample of detective control.

Hereinafter, general aspects of implementation of the systems andmethods of the invention will be described.

The system of the invention or portions of the system of the inventionmay be in the form of a “processing machine,” such as a general purposecomputer, for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” isto be understood to include at least one processor that uses at leastone memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. Theinstructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in thememory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes theinstructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order toprocess data. The set of instructions may include various instructionsthat perform a particular task or tasks, such as those tasks describedabove. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task maybe characterized as a program, software program, or simply software.

As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions thatare stored in the memory or memories to process data. This processing ofdata may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processingmachine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request byanother processing machine and/or any other input, for example.

As noted above, the processing machine used to implement the inventionmay be a general purpose computer. However, the processing machinedescribed above may also utilize any of a wide variety of othertechnologies including a special purpose computer, a computer systemincluding, for example, a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe, aprogrammed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a peripheral integratedcircuit element, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, alogic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic devicesuch as a FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL, or any other device or arrangement ofdevices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes ofthe invention.

The processing machine used to implement the invention may utilize asuitable operating system. Thus, embodiments of the invention mayinclude a processing machine running the Microsoft Windows™ 7 operatingsystem, the Microsoft Windows™ Vista™ operating system, the MicrosoftWindows™ XP™ operating system, the Microsoft Windows™ NT™ operatingsystem, the Windows™ 2000 operating system, the Unix operating system,the Linux operating system, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™operating system, the Hewlett-Packard UX™ operating system, the NovellNetware™ operating system, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operatingsystem, the OS/2™ operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, theMacintosh operating system, the Apache operating system, an OpenStep™operating system or another operating system or platform.

It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the inventionas described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or thememories of the processing machine be physically located in the samegeographical place. That is, each of the processors and the memoriesused by the processing machine may be located in geographically-distinctlocations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner.Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or thememory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment.Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single pieceof equipment in one location and that the memory be another single pieceof equipment in another location. That is, it is contemplated that theprocessor may be two pieces of equipment in two different physicallocations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in anysuitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or moreportions of memory in two or more physical locations.

To explain further, processing, as described above, is performed byvarious components and various memories. However, it is appreciated thatthe processing performed by two distinct components as described abovemay, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, beperformed by a single component. Further, the processing performed byone distinct component as described above may be performed by twodistinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performedby two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordancewith a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a singlememory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinctmemory portion as described above may be performed by two memoryportions.

Further, various technologies may be used to provide communicationbetween the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow theprocessors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with anyother entity; i.e., so as to obtain further instructions or to accessand use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used toprovide such communication might include a network, the Internet,Intranet, Extranet, LAN, an Ethernet, wireless communication via celltower or satellite, or any client server system that providescommunication, for example. Such communications technologies may use anysuitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example.

As described above, a set of instructions may be used in the processingof the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of aprogram or software. The software may be in the form of system softwareor application software, for example. The software might also be in theform of a collection of separate programs, a program module within alarger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. Thesoftware used might also include modular programming in the form ofobject oriented programming. The software tells the processing machinewhat to do with the data being processed.

Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructionsused in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in asuitable form such that the processing machine may read theinstructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may bein the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted tomachine language or object code to allow the processor or processors toread the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code orsource code, in a particular programming language, are converted tomachine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machinelanguage is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to aparticular type of processing machine, i.e., to a particular type ofcomputer, for example. The computer understands the machine language.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programminglanguage used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++,COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX,Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is notnecessary that a single type of instruction or single programminglanguage be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system andmethod of the invention. Rather, any number of different programminglanguages may be utilized as is necessary and/or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the inventionmay utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as maybe desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further,files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module,for example.

As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in theform of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system,for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciatedthat the set of instructions, i.e., the software for example, thatenables the computer operating system to perform the operationsdescribed above may be contained on any of a wide variety of media ormedium, as desired. Further, the data that is processed by the set ofinstructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of mediaor medium. That is, the particular medium, i.e., the memory in theprocessing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or thedata used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physicalforms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may bein the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, anintegrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, amagnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber,communications channel, a satellite transmission, memory card, SIM card,or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium or source ofdata that may be read by the processors of the invention.

Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine thatimplements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms toallow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as isdesired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to holddata. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as aflat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example.

In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “userinterfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with theprocessing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention.As used herein, a user interface includes any hardware, software, orcombination of hardware and software used by the processing machine thatallows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interfacemay be in the form of a dialog screen for example. A user interface mayalso include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, voice reader, voicerecognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, apushbutton or any other device that allows a user to receive informationregarding the operation of the processing machine as it processes a setof instructions and/or provides the processing machine with information.Accordingly, the user interface is any device that providescommunication between a user and a processing machine. The informationprovided by the user to the processing machine through the userinterface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or someother input, for example.

As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processingmachine that performs a set of instructions such that the processingmachine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically usedby the processing machine for interacting with a user either to conveyinformation or receive information from the user. However, it should beappreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system andmethod of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actuallyinteract with a user interface used by the processing machine of theinvention. Rather, it is also contemplated that the user interface ofthe invention might interact, i.e., convey and receive information, withanother processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, theother processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, itis contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and methodof the invention may interact partially with another processing machineor processing machines, while also interacting partially with a humanuser.

It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art thatthe present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application.Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other thanthose herein described, as well as many variations, modifications andequivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggestedby the present invention and foregoing description thereof, withoutdeparting from the substance or scope of the invention.

Accordingly, while the present invention has been described here indetail in relation to its exemplary embodiments, it is to be understoodthat this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the presentinvention and is made to provide an enabling disclosure of theinvention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to beconstrued or to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude anyother such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications orequivalent arrangements.

1. A method for managing customer communications over a plurality ofcommunication channels comprising: using at least one of a plurality ofcomputer processors, determining a communication channel for contactinga customer, the communication channel selected from the group consistingof a wired phone line and a cellular phone; using at least one of theplurality of computer processors, determining a telephone number for thecustomer to be used with the determined communication channel;presenting the telephone number to an agent; receiving authorization todial the telephone number; using at least one of a plurality of computerprocessors, initiating contact with the customer using the communicationchannel; using at least one of the plurality of computer processors,determining an alternate communication channel by which to contact thecustomer; initiating contact with the customer on the alternatecommunication channel; and reverting to a default communication channelfollowing the attempted contact using the alternate communicationchannel.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dialing mode isdetermined based on a campaign strategy.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the alternate communication channel is determined based on oneof a customer feedback, a customer availability and a customerpreference.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication channelis based on a campaign strategy.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecommunication channel is determined based on customer contact consent.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication channel isdetermined based on a customer account attribute.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the communication channel is determined based on customerconsent to be contacted on the communication channel.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the alternate communication channel is selected fromthe group consisting of at least one of an email, a text message, achat, a facsimile, and a social networking site.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the wired phone line comprises one of a landline and a VOIPline.
 10. A method for managing customer communications over a pluralityof communication channels comprising: using a campaign manager executedby at least one of a plurality of computer processors, selecting adialing mode for contacting a customer based on at least one of acampaign strategy, a customer account attribute, a phone numberattribute, a previous contact outcome, a previous call outcome, a timeof day, a customer contact preference, a customer availability, and acustomer contact consent, wherein the dialing mode is one of apredictive mode, a preview mode, and a preview manual mode; attemptingto contact the customer using the selected dialing mode; determining, byat least one of the plurality of computer processors, an alternatedialing mode based on the result of the attempted contact; attempting tocontact the customer using the alternate dialing mode; and reverting toa default dialing mode following the attempted contact using thealternate dialing mode.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:recording a result of the attempted contact using the selected dialingmode; and recording a result of the attempted contact using thealternate dialing mode.
 12. A system for managing customercommunications over a plurality of communication channels comprising: adatabase comprising contact data including a wired phone number and acellular telephone number; a computer processor executing acommunication manager, the communication manger determining acommunication channel for contacting a customer selected from the groupconsisting of a wired phone and a cellular phone; wherein thecommunication manager retrieves, from the database, a telephone numberfor the customer to be used with the determined communication channel;wherein the communication manager presents the telephone number to anagent and receives authorization to dial the telephone number; whereinthe communication manager contacts the customer using the selectedcommunication channel; wherein communication manger determines analternate communication channel by which to contact the customer; andwherein communication manger reverts to a default communication channelfollowing the attempted contact using the alternate communicationchannel.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication channelis based on a campaign strategy.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein thecommunication channel is determined based on customer contact consent.15. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication channel isdetermined based on a customer account attribute.
 16. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the communication channel is determined based oncustomer consent to be contacted on the communication channel.
 17. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the alternate communication channel isselected from the group consisting of at least one of an email, a textmessage, a chat, a facsimile, and a social networking site.
 18. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the wired phone comprises one of a landlinephone and a VoIP phone.
 19. A method for managing customercommunications over a plurality of communication channels comprising:using a campaign manager executed by at least one of a plurality ofcomputer processors, selecting a communication channel for contacting acustomer based on at least one of a campaign strategy, a customeraccount attribute, a phone number attribute, a previous contact outcome,a previous call outcome, a time of day, a customer contact preference, acustomer availability, and a customer contact consent, wherein thedialing mode is one of a predictive mode, a preview mode, and a previewmanual mode; attempting to contact the customer using the selectedcommunication channel mode; using at least one of the plurality ofcomputer processors, determining an alternate communication channelbased on the result of the attempted contact; attempting to contact thecustomer using the alternate communication channel; and reverting to adefault communication channel following the attempted contact using thealternate communication channel.